Weather Eye

Wednesday, 10-27-21 Offshore Low pressure

We are keeping our eye on the weather. The current wind forecast shows that in 48 hours or so the conditions will deteriorate to what is shown above.

When this low moves out to sea there is another cold front that will be right on top of us in Long Island.

A smaller disturbance joins as the previous one moves East

National Weather Service – Hazardous Weather Outlook…

Gale-force winds and/or very rough seas are forecast on Tuesday.

Gale-force winds and/or very rough seas are forecast on Wednesday.

Gale-force winds and/or very rough seas are forecast on Thursday.

Gale-force winds and/or very rough seas are forecast on Friday.

Gale-force winds and/or very rough seas are forecast on Saturday.

The waves heights for the Jersey Shore go from their current 2′ to around 8′ or more.

We decided to book a night @ a Safe Harbor marina in Stratford, CT and the following 5 nights at another Safe Harbor marina further west in Port Washington, NY. This would allow us to allow the weather to clear before running the Jersey shore. We are hoping for a 2-3 days of flat seas to run south and into the Delaware Bay.

The future weather looks bad but this morning we awoke to a nice “sun up” view and a calm anchorage.

As we motor west down LIS the waves are small and the sun is shining.

calm seas

Prop wash behind our Bruce Roberts TY57

We passed Falkner Island off the the Connecticut coast. What an odd looking island.

We loaded the boat up with drugs before we left, a.k.a. apple cider donuts These things are crack!

We had booked our slip using the Dockwa app and were disappointed when it was declined. I think the larger boat is going to present a challenge at many of the smaller marinas that I will seek a slip. We made a last minute decision to anchor in Morris Cove New Haven, CT.

Today’s trip salted up the pilothouse windows after I spent a while cleaning all the salt off of them. I’m leaving them salty till tomorrow morning when I deal with them again.

Today’s trip looked something like this.

Southbound

Teresa Arrives

Teresa arrived and we were excited to start our trip south but first we had to finish the maintenance projects such as…

I burned through two Dremels using cut off wheels.

It was not all work this summer. If I was not watching Cozi TV with my Dad I was probably enjoying “Dinner & a Movie” each night with my brother Eddie and his wife, Doreen. They are amazing cooks and I eat well while I am home. Dad & I Celebrated his 90th birthday with a visit from his sister Maybelle and her husband, Armand. Dad’s is 90 years old and I’m still hearing new stories from my auntie Maybelle about when they were young growing up together. It was nice to see the three of them together. I wish I had taken more photos but here are a few…

Dad’s 90th Birthday

Cozi TV makes me smile as I watch the Six Million Dollar Man or Little House on the Prairie and it’s like it’s 1979 all over again.

As the morning temps kept getting colder the marina was empty under a full harvest moon.

We watched as friends also set sail in search of warmer weather.

Saucy Fox Departing Warwick, RI for points south

We found some time to catch a small striper

Finally we untied the dock lines and cast off. It was a great feeling to be sitting in the pilothouse as we pointed Simple Life south.

I wanted to top off the fuel tanks so we stopped in Newport, RI at the Newport Yaching Center.

The New Simple Life has 4X as much power and 2X the speed but also consumes 4X the fuel. Even with the fuel tanks more than half full a top off of the tanks means 890 gals.

Soon we were passing Misquamicut State Beach and running the inside of Fisher Island.

As the sun was getting low we decided to tuck in behind Fisher Island for the night. We arrived at our chosen anchorage and found a CG Cutter anchored so we dropped next to them.

Below you can find a walkthrough Video of the CGC COHO

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/776029/virtual-tour-uscgc-coho-wpb-87321

As soon as I dropped the anchor and started paying out the anchor chain… it stopped… Hmmmmm.. Better go check the anchor locker. I found a dreaded “Chain Knot”!!!!

We spent some time untangling the anchor chain before making dinner and relaxing in the salon for the night. We will retire tonight and in the morning decide where we are going? Winter 05, Leg 001 looked something like below.

Long Island Hideout

If the Boat is a Rocking…

I awoke to the boat rocking. Yeah, it was waves.

After being awake for 20 hours, I caught about 3 hours sleep before waiting for first light to weigh anchor. Last night’s anchorage served it’s purpose. It was only 10 minutes off my path and was an easy-in / easy-out in the dark.

You can see my track – easy in – easy out

I headed west down Long Island Sound toward NYC. The wind was blowing from the south so the waves were building as they crossed over from Long Island to the Connecticut coast where I was. It made for a choppy wet ride. I decided to cross to the LI side before turning again to the west. This made for a much more comfortable ride heading west.

Demonic Possession

I always set Simple Life’s throttle to 1400 RPM which is 2 gallons/hr burn rate. Depending on the currents I average around 6kts. Doing the math, that’s 3NM to the gallon or about $1/mile. I’ve always thought it’s a pretty inexpensive mode to travel since you are moving you and your 40,000 lb home. However this home might need an exorcism?

Cummins smart craft tachometer showing my 2.0 gal/hr burn rate and 666 gallons burned.

Wait… They don’t go to Heaven?

I cringe when I watch people release mylar ballons to go to heaven in the name of a lost loved one.

Traffic Jam

At one point I had to change course to take the stern of a tug pushing a barge. I thought maybe I could follow the barge close and let her flatten out the sound but alas at 8.5kts I was burning a lot more fuel and salting up the topsides.

Salt spray was washing my muddy anchor pulpit

I no sooner gave up on following the tug and I was dodging other traffic.

Pilothouse Pleasures

As I plod along I am happy that I am inside on this cold rainy day.

I had left my marina in Warwick, RI on the same day as another B-Dock member, MV Leap of Faith. I had managed to slip ahead of them but not for long as I watched them speed past me.

Girl Power

Soon I pass an overturned sailboat. I think to myself… wow that must be cold as you swim back to the boat and attempt to right it. As I pass I see that it’s two women sailors. I feel a little like a woosie as I wrap a afghan over my feet which feel cold just watching them.

Route Planning

As I get closer to the west end of Long Island Sound I start to plan my upcoming routes. A quick check of the weather tells me I might enjoy the next two nights in a marina rather than anchored at the foot of the Statue of Liberty as planned.

Marina Hideout

I found a great marina called Safe Harbor Capri in Port Washington. I’ve stayed here before and the Dockmaster Rob is very accommodating. Nice place to sit out the wind & rain.

As I pull in there is a dock hand there to catch a line for me. It’s raining hard so I make sure to tip him well. The slips here are large and it looks as if you could dock another boat in my slip right alongside Simple Life.

As I sit and eat some spaghetti I pull out my laptop to renew my EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) with Search & Rescue for the next two years. I have emergency contacts incase it should ever be automatically triggered by a sinking.

As I sit inside, the wind is trying to blow the dog off the chain. I step out and see that as protected as this marina is… there are still waves rocking the boat.

At the end of the video, you see a sailboat on a mooring whose main sail has unfurled and is flogging. Not good.

Man of Leisure

My new Apple Watch gives me a haptic nudge. I glance down and see that all the boats rocking has tricked my watch into thinking I’m exercising. It believes I’ve just had my longest “move streak” to date. I chuckle to myself and think … I’m a man of leisure.

Apple Watch 6 thinks I have my longest move streak

Weather Window

Now checking the weather I can see it’s going to get worse for the next two days but there appears to be a 5-6 day weather window for running the coast starting Tuesday afternoon.

The weather has been very stormy lately. I would have expected all the tropical storm activity to have ceased but even now in November there are storms forming in the Caribbean.

Go With the Flow

I now need to plan my exit to align with an ebbing current in the East River. Throgs Neck Bridge current station is right at the entrance to the East end of the East River. It’s sort of broad there so you don’t expect too strong a current. However, at Hell’s Gate where the East River and the Harlem River come together you can see there is a 4.73kt max current. The last thing I check is the timing of the currents at The Narrows which is just before I duck under the Verrazano bridge and out into the Atlantic Ocean.

W04L002 is in the Books

Leg #2 of my Winter 2020 journey was only 46.4NM and looked something like this.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with One Step

Just Don’t Be Late

Simple Life was supposed to leave the dock on Saturday, October 17th. Now, two weeks later, it’s Halloween and Preppy and I are out on the bow in the blowing snow trying to wire up a windlass.

It’s Cold!

Our hands are barely working after letting go of the freezing cold anchor chain. We laugh at how ridiculous the situation is.

It’s says it’s 34 degrees and snowing but the raw wind definitely does make it feel like 22 degrees.

Snow! It’s everywhere.

The original departure date was missed but with Preppy aboard we were now ready to depart. Another quick check of the weather and there’s the remnants of a hurricane that are blanketing our area.

Gale Warning

So we give it a couple days and what’s next? A Gale Warning!

The Shanty

With nothing to do but wait we decide to walk to The Shanty for dinner and some IPAs .

Frozen Dock Lines

It’s Halloween morning and Preppy is going home as he has next week’s jobs to prepare for. Preppy had agreed to make the trip over to the fuel dock in the morning before we parted ways. The only challenge now was getting off the dock?

Me attempting to thaw my dock lines

Sometimes I don’t think… I just do. So when Preppy said the dock lines are frozen solid on the cleat, I just grabbed the torch which was right next to me and started heating them up. It was not until Preppy said … Umm.. why don’t we just pour some hot water over them? Duh? Yes, that did the trick!

With the dock lines finally freed we made our way out of the slip and over to the fuel dock.

At the fuel dock were Peter & Leslie of MV Leap of Faith. They were attempting to use the pumpout hose but it was frozen and would not operate. MV Leap of Faith is also heading south for the winter. They travel faster than I do so we’ll stay in touch as we go through text & calls.

I really like leaving with full water tanks and an empty blackwater tank, especially when it’s cold as I’ve run into situations where you try to pull into a marina to get water & pumpout and it’s either frozen or winterized. I spent quite a while with the pumpout hose locked open and in the seawater till it thawed and came to life writhing like a snake. A short suck of the 54 degree seawater and it was time to pump out.

The water in Greenwich Bay is a chilly 54 degrees

The Lookback

As I pulled away from the fuel dock, I looked back. Every time I leave I look back. There is an undeniable feeling of freedom. It’s the first moments of a 6 month, 5K mile journey. I smile. The world seems right.

Snow covered fly deck looking back at fuel dock

As I pass Warwick Neck I can see the snow covered Warwick Country Club.

Point Judith

MV Leap of Faith had already called me and gave me the word that the sea was very calm when they exited Narragansett Bay. I was passing Point Judith Light and slowing coming up on a Hunter sailboat who was also enjoying the trip west down Long Island Sound.

At this moment I noticed that my Garmin satellite tracker seemed frozen. I checked my blog’s current position page and it showed that I was still in Warwick, RI? I quick reset of the satellite tracker and it update my position. Ofcourse it drew a straight line between where I left and where I was when the tracker came back to life. I’m guessing someone is going to ask me how I piloted the boat over the state of RI?

Watch Hill

Soon I was passing Watch Hill, RI and some of the beautiful homes along the coast.

Fisher’s Island

I made my way up the inside of Fisher’s Island. There were fishermen working the current between the island and mainland CT.

I don’t know a lot about Fisher’s Island but it looks beautiful as you cruise past.

On the west side of Fisher’s Island you must keep an eye out for the ferry’s as they can sneak up on you pretty fast.

Cross Sound Ferry MV John H – between Orient Point, Long Island, New York and New London, CT

I had planned to anchor behind Fisher’s Island because I had never done that. However, the sea was calm and the moon was bright. I decided to keep going west. The area around Fisher’s Island is called “The Race” and it has strong currents and often gets pretty choppy. Getting inside the northern fork of Long Island seemed like the right thing to do.

With the sun setting Long Island Sound looked amazing.

As night settled in around me I flicked my running lights on and settled back in the captain’s chair for a long night.

Ultimately I settled on an anchorage with only minimal protection but “just off the beaten path” as they say. Not to far inland that it takes an hour to get in and an hour the next morning just to get out.

I anchored just off Fort Trumbull Beach in Milford Harbor. This location is just west of Bridgeport, CT. There is a small island called, Charles Island with a low-tide land bridge. You need to watch your tides down here near the head of Long Island Sound. If you anchor at high tide you might wake up at low tide with the boat resting on the bottom.

The time was now midnight. It had left Warwick, RI at around 10AM so roughly 14 hours to Bridgeport, CT. The 1st 98NM leg of my Winter 2020 journey looked something like this.

It was around 1AM by the time I took a hot shower and got to bed. I’m typing this blog post as I sit in the captain’s chair navigating leg 2 of my journey. Stay tuned for the Leg 2 post.

Summer 2020

Return from Florida

My winter 2019 season ended with a rough ride home to Rhode Island in early May 2020. The ride home had tossed everything in the salon as I fought beam seas.

My Keurig needed a minor repair but she is still making coffee this morning as I type this

Lots of fenders to starboard as this early in the season has many transients coming and going.

Back in my slip in early May… I thought the worst was over…

Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 had some good times for me but it sucked in so many other ways

Dad

Now home, the first order of business was to go see Dad. I had flown up to visit once during the winter but now we could spend the next six months together until I had to leave again on Halloween 2020.

Dad & I enjoying some coffee & catching up

I could not do my trip south each winter if it were not for my brother, Eddie and his wife, Doreen. They give so much of themselves to help my Dad live his best life. They become the primary care givers for my Dad when I leave to head south for the winter. Family is a wonderful thing.

Doreen is playing barber and making sure Dad looks sharp

Eddie and I took my Dad to the D Rounds Truck Shows 2020

My Dad drove trucks all his life. These days his memory is failing. My brother and I thought it would be nice to take him to the Danny Rounds truck show 2020. Dad surprised us with his recall of all things trucks that day. It was a great day to see him get out and smile around the antique trucks.

Projects – Dad’s Home

When I get back every Spring my brother and I make any needed repairs to my Dad’s home. This year was a busy one with lots of repairs and modifications to siding, ceilings, furnace, new privacy fence, etc.

FBM – FaceBook Marketplace – Cash is King

I spent some time using FaceBook Marketplace to sell many items and turn them into cash to purchase others. I am kind of addicted to FBM.

More Anchoring – No Kayaks

This was the year that I finally decided to sell both heavy kayaks and go with twin lightweight, high-pressure inflatable, SUPs (Stand Up Paddleboards). I was able to stow two SUPs in the port kayak hooks and a 12″ high-pressure inflatable dock on the starboard side. I also purchased two 12′ x 18″ rafting fenders so other boaters can raft along side me each weekend.

Dinghy Upgrade

Fishing is big in SW Florida. However, much of the water is very shallow. I have decided to upgrade my dinghy as my old Walker Bay 340 dingy (shown below being hauled away by its new owner). It had several patches and was showing its 8 year age.

I found a 12′ Highfield aluminum hulled hypalon dinghy with a 25HP Yamaha outboard on FBM (shown below).

I then set out to customize it. I added:

Tan colored dinghy chaps
Motor & seat covers
Custom silk-screened state registration panels
Garmin GPS/fish finder
NMEA 2K network for outboard engine data on Garmin.
Lifters trim tabs,
Garmin Fusion Stereo
Upgraded battery box with cell charger and 12V power.
Drink holders
Fishing rod holders
etc. (see pics below)

I like to trick out the dinghy to have everything that I need for fishing.

Summer Getaways

My brother was nice enough to cover for me while I flew to Florida on a family emergency as well as got in a few boating trips to Martha’s Vineyard, Cuttyhunk, Block Island and Newport.

Forget Baby Yoda, I got to hang out with a baby Zebra

Saltwater Drone

My old drone got damaged by salt water so I decided to buy a drone that can land directly in the saltwater.

My 4-Legged Kids

Thanks to Kelly for letting me visit our dogs before I left. She’s a great dog Mom and takes the best care of these two. I love these furry kids.

My girl Happy on my right and my boy Brody on my left.

Projects – Simple Life

I worked on several boat projects such as replacing my Khalenberg air compressor, new bottom paint & zincs, waxed hull, LED & party lighting, upgraded to all Gen 3 iPad Pros for navigation, new windlass & deck mount, etc.

Simple Life’s new party lighting in the salon

I also added a new espresso machine and station complete with everything needed to make some good coffee drinks.

Also a shoutout to Greg and Tracey from MV Reel Fine for giving me their old dinghy davits. I mounted them on the stern just before I left.

I finally mounted a proper first-aid kit, Anti-chocking device and AED – Automated External Defibrillator. I hope I never need these but it’s good to know they are aboard.

While I had the boat on the hard for maintenance, I made sure to pretty her up.

Civic Duty

Soon I was down to a week before departure so I had to run out quick and cast my vote.

Last Minute Projects

Preppy was supposed to join me for the 1st week on the trip but we needed that week to finish several projects that needed to be done before departure . I can’t thank Preppy enough for his help during this last minute rush to get things fixed and get off the dock. I don’t know how I would have done it without him. Nice to have good friends. Below is a pic of Preppy & I while we took a break and chatted with Heather and Debby who had come by to see me off.

Stay tuned for the next blog post about the first leg of my Winter 2020.

Guacamoles & Ukuleles

Our 67NM trip from Point Judith to Branford, CT looked something like this.

We passed the time singing home-made songs and making each other laugh.

We called ahead into Safe Harbor Bruce Johnson Marina in Branford, CT and reserved a slip. We made it just in time before the dock crew went home for the night.

We were greeted by a dockhand and spent some time chatting with the local boaters in the slip behind where we docked. We asked them to recommend a local restaurant within walking distance and it was clear that the crew of MV Simple Life were fans of Mexican.

The sun was just setting so we snapped a few quick photos before we set off to find Guacamoles restaurant.

Our walk to Guacamoles turned into an adventure and we stopped to checkout a few boats sitting on the hard. This large motorsailer was a cross between my last sailboat and my current trawler. A sexy beast she was.

The next boat caught my eye for a different reason. It was the same model as my first sailboat. A MacGregor 26X. I always had a dream to become a sailor exploring far away islands somewhere on the globe. I had to start somewhere and the MacGregor was a boat in my budget. I smile when I think back on that boat and the good times that were had aboard.

Seated at Guacamoles it was time for some table-side guacamole and Mariachi music.

Do we call this a Mariachi Band?

Renee & I posed for a quick pick before retracing our steps back to the boat and calling it a night.

The next morning I stopped to checkout a Farr 50 that was without it’s mast. Nice looking cruising boat.

Next we fired up the diesel, put her in gear and pulled out of our slip. I snapped one last photo as we passed the fuel dock on our way out. Our next destination would be Port Washington on the other side of Long Island Sound.

The Winds of November Came Early

We left Morris Cove Anchorage at 5:30AM. It was dark, very dark. We had woken up around 4 AM. I had pulled up the anchor, spun the boat around and MV Simple Life started going bow up, bow down. I thought… the winds were not supposed to increase until Thursday afternoon (per the NWS – National Weather Service Gale Warning). In the words of Gordon Lightfoot, “The winds of November came early”. We used our searchlight to spot the buoys on our way out of New Haven Harbor’s channel.

Jay Marques, you asked for video in addition to photos so these links are for you.

Leaving Morris Cove Anchorage – Low Light

Sorry, that video is the lightest of the three I recorded. With the winds out of the south it meant that the 16 mile fetch of water from the NY side to the CT side was making the CT side of the sound lumpy. I heard the VHF radio crackle alive with a tugboat captain complaining that the winds had been honking all night long. Here is a video after the sun came up and we were slogging our way South across Long Island Sound from New Haven, CT to Long Island’s Huntington Bay area.

Slogging our way South Across LIS

When Kelly & I first met I had a 1998 35′ Beneteau 352 Oceanis ,S/V Saltyhacker, (I’ll upload a pic of SV Saltyhacker later) that had only a dodger (the see-thru plastic and canvas that covers the companionway opening into the boat. We sold her to a great couple from Canada and bought a 2001 45′ Hunter 450 Center Cockpit. (I’ll upload a pick of SV Skull & Swords later, promise). The Hunter was owned by friends of ours who were living aboard her in Exuma Key, Bahamas and ever since we’ve said someday we’ll spend a few months on anchor there. We loved the Hunter for it’s liveaboardness; for it’s fully enclosed cockpit and interior space but Kelly would often quip that unless we are sitting in the outside cockpit you don’t get to enjoy the scenery. So we decided to buy a new boat that met our mutual demands. Kelly wanted a boat that was easier to move around in (Kelly has a habit of twisting / breaking ankles when underway or simply aboard). After spending 10 hour days at the helm outside and often cold, I was fancy on an enclosed pilot house. In the video above you will just have to imagine as the cold sea spray is hitting the pilothouse windows that I’m sipping my coffee in my PJs at the helm (smile).

Todays trip looked something like this..

As you approach the East-end of LIS you enter into the East River that takes you from the Bronx to the Statue of Liberty. As many times as we have made this trip we still find ourselves taking pictures of the scenery as we go down the river. Below are some of the photos we snapped along the way…

Prison — After going by Riker’s Island Jail you pass the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center. This is a 47,000-ton, five-story barge with 800 beds spread over 16 “dormitories” and 100 proper jail cells. At 625 feet in length and 125 feet wide, it also holds a gym, a basketball court, a library, three chapels, a rooftop exercise area

Broklyn Bridge — Brooklyn Bridge – built in 1870

Helicopter — Whirly Birds buzz the East River and land just North of Battery March

Water Taxis are everywhere and as a captain you must be alert and ready to dodge them

We timed our trip down the East River to make sure we caught favorable currents that saved us easily an hour during our transit. After arriving in NYC harbor we hailed Liberty Landing Marina and requested our slip assignment. The wind was gusting but an attendant met us at the slip and caught the lines that 1st Mate Kelly threw to him.

LibertyLandingMarina — MV Simple Life tied off at Liberty Landing Marina

Tomorrow we’ll take the water taxi and find somewhere to grab a IPA & Capt-Pepsi -NFL (No-Flipping-Lime) & a bite. Tonight we’ll just relax 😉

New Haven CT & Gale Warnings

PtJudithSunrise2 — Pt. Judith, RI – Harbor of Refuge @ Sunrise

We departed Harbor of Refuge @ sunrise this morning. We felt a sense of urgency due to a gale warning (gusts to 35 knots) which is in effect beginning Thursday afternoon. The cause is two separate low pressures that are having a complex interaction West of our current location.

Below is a rough depiction of our second leg of our journey South. Our course took us from Pt. Judith’s Harbor of Refuge, outside Fishers Island to Morris Cove Anchorage in New Haven, CT.

Today’s cruise was long but relaxing. The sun was streaming in windows making the pilothouse warm as we made way @ 8.5kts West down Long Island Sound.

We saw only a few sport fishing boats and had to dodge the occasional ferry crossing our path.

Every captain knows it’s better to take the stern of larger vessels rather than attempt to cross her bow. Ten or so years ago I had a close with a US battleship @3AM in pea-soup fog in Norfolk, Virginia’s entrance channel. Our close call was not a crossing issue but instead the warship was inbound in the channel and was not basting fog signals. After they suddenly appeared on radar from under the Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel we quickly blasted our horn. When they responded with their horn I swear my ears blew out. The warship quickly passed us not 100′ off our port beam (frightening in the fog). A shout out to that day’s offshore crew – Eddie, Sean and Amy who can attest to this poop-your-pants experience.

After this harrowing experience, we installed Kahlenberg triple trumpet air horns as well as AIS (Automatic Identification System) in Simple Life.

AIS equipped vessels can each view on their chart plotter the other’s vessel name, size, speed, heading and course-magnetic. AIS works by sending & receiving digital data over VHF channel 70 so that two ships can see each other on their chartplotter screens even without radar. I have also learned to that programming your marine VHF with a MMSI # make ship2ship communications easier when it’s dark or foggy.

Tomorrow our plan is to push west down the coast of Connecticut with hopes of catching the 4.8kt ebb tide through the East River (where the dead bodies are found on many Law & Order episodes). Kelly & I always enjoy the East River’s Hell’s Gate (where the Harlem River meets the East River). Hell’s Gate is infamous due to the strong currents that mix in the way a washing machine mixes water.

We hope to make the Liberty Island Marina in Jersey City by sunset on Thursday. We’ll spend two nights at the marina while we wait for more favorable weather for our trip down the Jersey coast. Until then we’ll just sit on anchor watching the lights from New Haven.